India— Garhwal H ardeol Tragedy. A joint Indian-N ew Zealand all-women expedition was m ade up of Mrs. Shashi K anta, co-leader M eena Agarwal, Swapna M itra, Sreela K undu, Vidya R am achandran and N andini Pandya, Indians, and Mrs. M argaret Clark, co-leader, Faye K err, Beverly Price, Jill Trem ain and Vicki Thom pson, N ew Zealanders. They set up Base Cam p at 13,850 feet at N atal T har on A pril 30. From the beginning they seem to have been distressed by avalanches pouring off Trisuli and their objective H ardeol (23,460 feet). Camps I, II and III were set up at 15,000, 15,500 and 18,000 feet. On M ay 24 while returning from Cam p III, N andini Pandya and Sherpa L hakpa were caught in an avalanche; Mrs. Pandya’s leg was broken and Lhakpa was injured. They had to be evacuated by helicopter. The others abandoned the attem pt on H ardeol and turned to P 22,769. On M ay 30 Jill Trem ain, Vicki Thompson, V idya R am achandran and Sreela K undu set out for Cam p II. Mrs.
Clark in Cam p I heard a huge avalanche but was not alarm ed until they were overdue. Although she and others made an intensive search, no trace of the four could be found.